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Area school bands, like the Preston Knights, will be on hand for the Buckwheat Festival School Day Parade at 2 p.m. Sept. 29.
This year’s Buckwheat Festival Fireman’s Parade is set for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28. It is always a favorite of residents and visitors.
Even the Clauses like a Buckwheat Festival parade.
Schools from across the region have matching units in the School Day Parade on Friday.
Middle and high school bands will be on hand for the School Day Parade.
Floats are also part of the Buckwheat Festival parades' tradition.
The Preston County Chamber of Commerce's float stood out in last year's parade.
Area school bands, like the Preston Knights, will be on hand for the Buckwheat Festival School Day Parade at 2 p.m. Sept. 29.
This year’s Buckwheat Festival Fireman’s Parade is set for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28. It is always a favorite of residents and visitors.
Even the Clauses like a Buckwheat Festival parade.
Schools from across the region have matching units in the School Day Parade on Friday.
Middle and high school bands will be on hand for the School Day Parade.
Floats are also part of the Buckwheat Festival parades' tradition.
The Preston County Chamber of Commerce's float stood out in last year's parade.
KINGWOOD, W.Va. (WV News) — The Buckwheat Festival’s tradition of hosting three separate parades will once again be fulfilled this year.
The Fireman’s Parade will start at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28. On Friday, Sept. 29, the festival will host its School Community Day parade starting at 2 p.m., and on Saturday, Sept. 30, the Farmers Day Parade starts at noon.
For those who enjoy the Fireman’s Parade, please note that the emergency vehicles in that parade will not be permitted to blare their sirens due to safety issues. Also, candies and pamphlets are not permitted to be thrown from any of the vehicles, floats, or by those walking the parade route.
According to Mike Shaffer, Buckwheat Festival bands director, the Preston Middle School and Preston High School bands will march in two to three of the parades. The parade route is circular in shape, which makes it much easier for the bus drivers and for band members. Most parades route start and finish spots are miles away, but in Kingwood, they start and stop at the same spot.
“We have three parades so we can focus on three areas that are important to us. Thursday is about the fire trucks and other emergency vehicles and marching bands. We’re looking at close to 80 fired departments that night. Friday is School Day, and we get a lot of the groups and organizations from around our county marching in that one, along with bands and floats from each individual school in the county. On Saturday, we highlight the farmers with their livestock sales that evening along with the parade that morning,” Shaffer said.
There will be nine or 10 bands marching in Thursday parade. On Friday, they estimate around 11 to 12 marching, including the Pride of West Virginia (WVU Marching Band). Saturday will see another six or seven bands.
“Our parades are usually an hour or an hour and a half long. The course is close to a mile in length, but the Fireman’s Parade on Thursday will be shorter because the parade is starting later in the evening,” Shaffer said.
He added that all of the bands in Monongalia County will be on hand along with marching bands from Maryland and Pennsylvania.
“We do something that other parades around the state don’t do, except for the Memorial Day Parade in Grafton. We pay the bands to participate in our parades. We pay the schools $2 per mile driven round-trip per bus/truck/unit with a minimum of $200 per bus,” Shaffer said.
He explained that some county school systems pay for the transportation of the band and staff, which effectively means that the payment to participate in the parade(s) is a contribution to the bands. The fire department also gives Preston County marching bands coupons for food at the fairgrounds.
The 2023 Honorary Farmers Parade Marshal is Kenny Pomeroy. He began farming as a small child looking up to his grandfather, Clarence Roy. His grandfather worked for ES Evans at Terra Alta Stockyards.
He became a member of the East Preston FFA, raising a steer and hogs for sausage at the Buckwheat Festival. Kenny is the son of Kent and Delores Pomeroy. He attended Potomac State College where he obtained an Associate of Agriculture degree and met his wife, Suenette. They have two children: Tyler Pomeroy (1st Runner Up to King Buckwheat in 2019) and Whitney Pomeroy (Jr. Princess in 2016).
In 2003, they purchased a farm in Eglon. They have a cow/calf operation, sheep, and pasture yearling cattle.
Kenny is the manager of Preston Farmers Market in Terra Alta. He visits many farmers in Preston and surrounding counties to purchase cattle for the stockyards to be shipped to feedlots in Iowa.
Last year, the family purchased Triple P Meats in Tunnelton, processing custom and commercial animals. He is a member of the Preston County Farm Bureau and the West Virginia Cattleman’s Association. He was a member of the Preston County Livestock Association for many years, serving on the board and as president. Kenny is thankful for the opportunity to work with farmers and youth to enhance agriculture in the county.
The 2023 Honorary School Day parade marshal is Mrs. Deborah Westbrook, a lifelong resident of Preston County. She is the daughter of the late Kenneth and Wilma Poling of Newburg. She graduated from West Preston High School. She received her Music Education degree from Fairmont State College.
Mrs. Westbrook has taught music in the Preston County School system for 40 years. Her first job was at Aurora Junior High School and Rowlesburg High School. She taught at Valley Junior High School, West Preston High School and came to Preston High School in 1991.
She has been the director of the Preston Marching Knights since 1995. Her groups have won many competitions and her students have received many honors. Mrs. Westbrook is a member of American Choral Directors Association, WV Band Masters, WV Music Educators and NAfME.
This year, she was selected as the Preston High School Academic Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Westbrook is also the music director at St. Sebastian and St. Zita Catholic churches. Mrs. Westbrook retired in June. She is looking forward to spending time with her supportive husband and best friend, Rick. They have been married for 41 years.
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